FLORIDA – Clearwater condo fraud case leads to federal indictments

Investors paid up to $600,000 and $700,000 for the condos, which they later could not unload for even $200,000.

By Curtis Krueger

September 17, 2014

CLEARWATER — Back when everybody seemed to be making money in real estate, Fred Davis Clark and Cristal Clark helped to assemble multimillion dollar development plans that stretched from Clearwater to the Florida Keys, Las Vegas and the Caribbean. But a new federal indictment claims the Clarks were making their money the old-fashioned way: with a Ponzi scheme.The Clarks helped build “a $300 million fraud scheme involving the sale of vacation rental units to approximately 1,400 investors,” according to a statement this week from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Florida’s Southern District. They have been charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The Clarks were part of Cay Club, which lured investors into Clearwater condos bordering Tampa Bay, not far from U.S. 19. The Club said the condo complex was going to be part of an attraction that would rival Disney World.

The Clarks’ operation also involved properties in the Florida Keys and elsewhere. Investors paid up to $600,000 and $700,000 for the condos, which they later could not unload for even $200,000. Read more: